In December the decrease in retail sales slowed down to some extent
According to Statistics Estonia, in December 2009 compared to December of the previous year the retail sales of goods of retail trade enterprises decreased 15% at constant prices. The decline in retail sales which had stood within the limits of 17% during the previous months slowed down to some extent in December.
In December, the retail sales of goods of retail trade enterprises were about 5 billion kroons. The decrease in retail sales of goods was most influenced by the stores selling manufactured goods, where the retail sales decreased by 24% compared to December 2008. The retail sales of other specialized stores, such as stores selling computers and their accessories, photography supplies, games and toys, glasses, optical goods, newspapers, stationery, etc., decreased most or 35%. In stores selling household goods and appliances, hardware and building materials a sharp downward trend continued in December. In these stores the retail sales of goods decreased by a fourth. The retail sales in stores selling textiles, clothing, footwear and leather goods slowed down remarkably, where the retail sales decreased 12% compared to December 2008. The low reference base in 2008 contributed to the slowdown in the decrease of the retail sales in these stores.
In December, the decrease in grocery stores slowed down to some extent. Since July, the decline in the retail sales of these stores has steadily shown a 9% decrease every month compared to the respective month of the previous year. In November the decline accelerated to 11%, which was the greatest decrease in this activity in 2009 as compared to the previous year. In December the retail sales of grocery stores decreased 8% compared to December 2008.
Compared to November 2009, in December the retail sales in retail trade enterprises increased by a fifth in constant prices. This is a characteristic rise in December, when Christmas marketing takes place.
In December the revenues from sales of retail trade enterprises were 5.8 billion kroons, out of which the retail sales of goods accounted for 85%. Compared to December 2008, the revenues from sales decreased 15% at current prices. Compared to November 2009, this indicator increased 17%.
According to the preliminary data the retail sales of retail trade enterprises were 54.9 billion kroons in 2009, compared to 2008 the retail sales decreased 15% in constant prices.
Retail sales volume index of retail trade enterprises and its trend,
January 2002 – December 2009 (corresponding period of previous year =100)
